Attachment for portable sanding tool



Jan. 13, 1970 A. J. TAAFE. JR

ATTACHMENT FOR PORTABLE SANDING TOOL Filed June 9, 1967 INVENTOR.

Alfred J. 7Z2afe, Jr.

AT ORNEY.

United States Patent 3,488,897 ATTACHMENT FOR PORTABLE SANDING TOOL Alfred J. Taafe, Jr., Girard, Ohio, assignor of fifty percent to Alfred J. Taafe, Sr., Girard, Ohio Filed June 9, 1967, Ser. No. 645,045 Int. Cl. B2411 17/00 US. Cl. 51--387 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The principal object of the invention is the provision of an attachment for a portable sanding tool taking the form of an elongated sandpaper mounting plate.

A further object of the invention is the provision of an attachment for a portable sanding tool which greatly enlarges the working area of the tool and permits the tool to be used with its usual sandpaper mounting surface or the attachment by readily attaching the same.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of an attachment for a portable sanding tool which makes possible the engagement of the sanding tool on a relatively long flat working surface.

The attachment for a portable sanding tool disclosed herein comprises an improvement relating primarily to body shop equipment wherein automobile bodies are repaired and wherein one of the major problems is reshaping sheet metal panels and the like. It is customary in repairing automobile bodies to fill in the damaged areas of the sheet metal work with various compounds, including body lead and the newer plastic based compounds, and sanding the same to the desired smoothness and matching configuration with respect to the body panel or part being repaired. Heretofore the sanding tools used for this purpose have been necessarily limited in working area, in view of the need of having a relatively small tool in order to obtain access into restricted areas on the body, for example, corners and in under flanges and around grill work and the like. It is equally important that the surfaces being smoothed by the sanding tool be relatively flat throughout their area or the alternate wavy appearance clearly indicates the presence of a repair, which is undesirable.

The present invention provides a highly desirable solution to the problem, in that the portable sanding tool with its relatively smaller area, can be used in those areas where space limitations make it mandatory, and in the larger areas the attachment for portable sanding tools disclosed herein may be readily positioned on the tool and the use of the tool continued with a much greater sanding area being realized.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being the intention to cover all changes and modifications of the example of the invention herein chosen for purposes of the' disclosure, which do not constitute departures from the spirit and scope of the invention.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the attachment for a portable sanding tool.

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation of the attachment for a portable sanding tool, with parts in broken lines indicating a portable sanding tool in position thereon.

FIGURE 3 is a vertical section on line 3-3 of FIG- URE 2.

By referring to the drawing, and FIGURE 1 in particular, it will be seen that the attachment for a portable sanding tool comprises an elongated flat body member 10, the longitudinal edges of which are preferably undercut as at 11, and provided with inlays 12 of relatively softer material. The upper surface of the elongated flat body member 10 is provided with a pair of spaced longitudinally extending vertical flanges 13 which are joined at one of their ends with a horizontally disposed transverse flange 14 which is integrally formed with a transversely extending end wall 15 and a secondary horizontal flange 16 which is secured to the upper surface of the elongated flat body member 10. The horizontally disposed transverse flange 14 is spaced with respect to the upper surface of the body member 10, as best seen in FIGURE 2 of the drawing, and its ends are-joined to the upper edges of the spaced vertically standing flanges 13 heretofore referred to. Thus,

the horizontal flange 14 forms a recess which extends transversely of the device.

The opposite, or right end of the upstanding vertical flanges 13 extend into and are preferably integrally formed with an inverted U-shaped member 17, the depending arms of which extend into the flanges 13 and the connecting web portion of which is spaced above the body member 10. A pressure plate 18 having bifurcated arms 19 on its opposite ends is positioned between the arms of the inverted U-shaped body member 17 and is movable vertically in the area defined thereby. A bolt 20 is threadably engaged in a vertical opening in the web portion of the inverted body member 17 and the lower end of the bolt engages the pressure plate 18.

Sandpaper attaching devices 21 are located on either end of the elongated flat body member 10, and comprise inverted channel-like units apertured and positioned over mounting studs22 and spring-urged against the upper surface of the body member 10 by springs 23 positioned around the studs 22. Each of the clamping members 21 has a handle 24 by which it may be tilted on its transverse axis so that a section of sandpaper may be positioned in under one of the longitudinal edges thereof, as will be understood by those skilled in the art.

In FIGURE 2 of the drawing, a piece of sandpaper S may be seen so installed, and it will also be seen that a broken line illustration of a portable sanding tool is shown in position on the device between the spaced parallel flanges 13 and with the end of the base plate of the portable sanding tool positioned in under the flange 14 and its opposite end positioned in under the web of the U- shaped body member 17 and held against the upper surface of the body member 10 by the pressure plate 18 and bolt 20. It will be observed that the base plate of the portable sanding tool may be moved into the position illustrated in broken lines in FIGURE 2 of the drawing on the attachment for the portable sanding tool by positioning the one end thereof in under the web of the inverted U-shaped body member 17 and moving the sanding tool in that direction until the opposite end of the base plate of the sanding tool clears the free edge of the horizontal flange 14 and drops into position below the same. The sanding tool is then moved toward the horizontal flange 14 and more particularly, the end wall 15 which is integral therewith, and thus is securely held by the flange 14, whereupon the pressure plate 18 is moved downward into clamping engagement by the bolt 20 and the winged lock nut 25 is tightened to insure the assemblys retaining its desired relation.

FIGURE 3 of the drawing shows the assembled relation of the base plate of the sanding tool in broken lines in position on the upper surface of the elongated flat body member 10, and it will thus be seen that a simple and efficient attachment for a portable sanding tool has been disclosed which permits the relatively small sized work area of the portable sanding tool to be greatly enlarged by the simple attachment of the attachment device thereto.

It will occur to those skilled in the art that a cylindrical buffing pad having a draw string in the edges thereof may be conveniently attached to the elongated flat body member 10 and the device used as a bulfing tool as well as a sanding tool.

It will thus be seen that the attachment for a portable sanding tool disclosed herein meets the several objects of the invention, and having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. An attachment for a portable sanding tool having a base plate and means thereon for imparting reciprocal motion thereto, said attachment comprising an elongated flat body member defining upper and lower longitudinally extending surfaces, means on the opposite ends of said elongated flat body member for detachably receiving the ends of a piece of sandpaper or the like positioned on the lower surface, secondary means on the upper surface of said elongated fiat body member for detachably receiving said base plate of said portable sanding tool said means for detachably receiving the base plate of the portable sanding tool includes a recess defining member positioned transversely of the upper longitudinally extending surface of said body member and in spaced relation thereto and clamping means carried by said body member and spaced longitudinally with respect to said recess defining member.

2. The attachment for a portable sanding tool set forth in claim 1 and wherein said means for detachably receiving the base plate of the portable sanding tool comprises a pair of horizontally spaced vertically standing parallel flanges on the upper surface of said elongated fiat body member, a structural member extending between adjacent ends of said flanges and spaced with respect to the upper surface of said elongated fiatbody member and defining said recess, said clamping means comprising an inverted U-shaped member formed integrally with said flanges and spaced with respect to said structural member, a pressure plate slidably mounted on said inverted U-shaped member and a bolt threadably positioned through said U-shaped member and arranged to move said pressure plate toward said elongated flat body member.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS OTHELL M. SIMPSON, Primary Examiner 

